Some Were In Time (32 page)

"He never would have been yours," Granny snapped and clenched her fists. "He was engaged to his mate—my daughter. He never wanted you, you horrible stupid woman."

"
Shut up
," Angela shouted. "John never got the chance to know me because of her." She hissed as she stared daggers at my mother in her Wolf form.

"Whoa whoa whoa," I said, shaking my head as I tried to keep a lid on my need to tear Angela's head from her body. Hank's low growling beside me let me know he was on the same page. "You got spurned by my dad, so you had him and my mom put into an experiment that kept them permanently in Wolf form?"

"Yes. It was my idea," Angela crowed proudly. "I was revered for it by the Council members who were funding the project and by the scientists. We could take problem Werewolves and use them to create perfect fighting machines."

"That's sick, Angela. You're no different from Hitler," I ground out.

"Thank you," she said with a bow of her head.

"It was not a compliment, you piece of trash. I missed out on having a mother and a father all of my life because you're a jealous psycho. You have ruined the lives of countless people and families… thirty I know of, and all because you're mentally ill with delusions of grandeur."

"What kind of magic was used?" Hank demanded in a tone that made everyone in the room flinch, including Angela.

God, he was hot when he was scary.

"Like I'd ever tell you." Angela laughed and pulled on the few hairs left on her head. "It's my ticket to stay alive."

The sound of her hollow and pathetic laugh bounced around my brain and made me feel clammy and ill. No, she probably wouldn't tell the secret, but if anyone could figure out how to reverse a spell or find a chemical compound that could solve this problem, it was Junior. We probably didn't even need all the information.

"You were my partner," Granny growled angrily. "You took my daughter and my son from me."

"You didn't think I was good enough for him," Angela bellowed.

"What are you talking about?" Granny shot back, completely mystified. "I had no clue your sick mind was even going there. You only met John and Annie once!"

"Yes," Angela agreed moodily, "but then I followed him for a year and ran into him randomly on purpose. But no… he was too enchanted by your whore to notice me," Angela screamed as she went to cut Granny's face again.

"So finding me and hiring me was all just a game to you?" I questioned loudly. I was trying to distract her from slicing and dicing my granny while also trying to make sense of how someone could be so delusional. "You had this planned all along?"

"Yes, I did. And you're a whore just like your mother."

I was a lot of things, but whore was not one of them—not by a long shot. Don't know if it was the word whore, or her tone of voice, or the fact it had been a really long week for everyone, but her name-calling was the last straw. Much to Angela's shock Granny tore out of her restraints like they were made of tissue paper and turned on her with a fury like I'd never seen. I dove like an Olympic swimmer onto the couch just as my parents sprang from their spots across the room and went for her neck.

And then suddenly it was over.

I have no idea who ended Angela's life. I don’t know if it was me, my mother, my father or my grandmother. It didn't matter. She was destroyed by the family she destroyed.

"Well, that was messy." Dwayne broke the silence with a ridiculous but accurate comment.

"All of this was because of unrequited love?" I asked in a daze as I backed away from the carnage that used to be Angela.

I stared at my parents and wondered what they looked like in their human form. I wondered if I would ever see them in their human form.

"Can you shift?" Hank asked as he got down low to examine the wounds on my parents.

Granny had already healed. Werewolf-Vampyre genes were clearly superior.

My father slowly shook his head no and pressed his body against my mother's.

"
Not all of the Wolves are like us
," my father said to me. "
Most want nothing to do with normal Weres or humans. They're dangerous, but deserve a chance at rehabilitation if we find a cure.
"

"I agree," I said aloud. "He says some of the feral Wolves are dangerous and we need to proceed with caution, but they deserve a chance to live too."

"
You're beautiful, Essie, and I love you so very much
," my mother said with a thick voice filled with sorrow. "
I am so sorry
."

I grabbed Hank so I didn't fall to the floor as my knees buckled. After all the danger was over I was left with a massive amount of emotion I wasn't quite sure what to do with. I had wished my whole life that my mom and dad were alive… and now they were.

Maybe not in the way I had hoped for, but they were alive. I could have a relationship with them. We could be a
very
unconventional little family.

Slowly I crawled to the Wolves and wedged myself between them. Granny looked on with a smile on her beautiful undead face. I laid my head against their necks and breathed them in. They were mine. This was by no means perfect, but it was something large—something large and wonderful. My Granny was a partial Vampyre and my parents were Wolves twenty-four seven and I was…

I was a scattered girl who could shoot the teats off a cow in the next county over.

I was a girl without a job or a boss.

I was a girl who was wildly in love with her mate.

And I was pretty sure I was the girl who talked Dwayne into wearing the horrid poofy dress for her at her wedding.

Life was looking pretty damn good right now.

"Hank wants six kids," I told my mom as I traced the markings on her snout. "I say he's smoking crack."

"I want ten," Hank corrected with a chuckle. He sat down on the floor and offered his respect to my father by keeping his head lower than his.

"So not happening."

I giggled and punched his arm as my mother nudged him and licked his cheek.

"Jesus Hesus," Dwayne shouted, startling everyone. "Your daddy can give you away at the wedding!"

"Yes. He can," Granny said with glee and a fit of giggles. "Of course we can't invite any humans—they'd just flip if you walked down the aisle with a Wolf and then kissed it."

I glanced at my father who looked sad but hopeful.

"I would be so happy if you would walk me down the aisle," I told him as I ran my hand along the side of his enormous head.

His fur was soft and I had to fight a tremendous urge to curl up next to him and cuddle.

"
It would be my honor
," he said gruffly and pushed his head against my hand.

"Done," I said with satisfaction and a huge hug for my dad. "Where's Dima?" I asked as I scanned the room.

"She went to check on someone," Dwayne said with a wink.

I was worried about her and her son, but we would stand by her one hundred percent.

"Um… sir," Hank said to my father. "It's a bit past the actual point of asking."

"Yes," Dwayne agreed. "They've been having sex for
years
."

"Oh my god, Dwayne," I shrieked and went to slap his bald head. "That is massively unnecessary information for my parents—and my granny."

"Correct, but it's so much fun to see the look on your face when I overshare."

"While it’s all kinds of awesome for you, it's totally sucktastic for me. Do it again and you're wearing a plain old black tuxedo to the wedding," I informed him with raised brows.

His squeal of terror was music to my ears. It was difficult to make eye contact with my parents after the great reveal of my sex life, but what was done was done. However, I was going to think of something to tell Dwayne's girls guaranteed to make him want to hide for a week or two. It was going to be a challenge, considering Dwayne had no filter and very little shame…

"Anyway, back to what I was saying before Dwayne started spouting all that fiction," Hank said while staring at the ceiling and trying to gather himself. "I love your daughter. I have loved her since the day I laid eyes on her. I just want you to know I will make her happy and love her for every moment I live."

My dad grunted his approval and my mom licked his cheek again. I simply stared at him.

"I love you so much it makes my teeth hurt," I said as I threw myself into his strong arms.

"My life is empty without you in it, crazy girl," he said with a grin.

"I hear there's a good Western on TV tonight," I said with my own silly grin.

"You don't say."

"Actually, I do say. And I can guarantee you're gonna love the show. It's a wild one."

"Essie," Granny said as she got up and loving ran her hands over her daughter and son-in-law.

"Yes, Granny?"

"We all know what you're talking about," she said with a wink and a smirk.

"
Shit
," I muttered as I felt the heat crawl up my neck and land squarely on my face.

"It's okay, baby," Hank said as he pulled me toward the grand staircase that led to the second floor. "Trust me, they've all been there and wish they were again."

"He's right, sweetie," Granny confirmed. "Can I use my real cell phone now?"

"Sure, why?" I asked.

"Because I'm pretty sure I'm smarter now that I'm dead. I think I could kick that cheating computer’s ass crack in Scrabble," she said seriously.

"Um… awesome," I said. "We're gonna go watch a western… maybe three."

"Or six," Hank said as he picked me up and took the stairs two at a time.

"Have fun," Granny called out as my parents howled their approval.

"I love you, Hank Wilson," I whispered when my family was finally out of view. "You make life so much more fun."

"And I love you Essie McGee soon-to-be Wilson. You make life worth living."

"You ready for a Western, cowboy?" I asked with a giggle.

"Never been more ready for anything in my life," he said.

Epilogue

The WTF Council accepted our version of the events with very few questions asked. I was shocked. Hank was not. It was a relief to know they were as surprised and appalled as we were at the creation of the feral Wolves and the bargaining with the Dragons.

There were several on the governing Council I thought were a little shady, but it wasn't the time or the place to call them on it. Thankfully the reveal to the humans was on permanent postponement due to the small fact the champions of the stupid idea were dead.

However, when they asked Hank and I to take over the seats of extremely indisposed and six feet under Aramini and Gades, we were both struck dumb.

Hank likes to tell the rest of the story, but I always stop him with the threat of withholding panty privileges. Granny would have a fit if she caught wind of my language.

The truth goes like this. They asked. We laughed hysterically.

They asked again. We laughed harder.

They asked a third time and it dawned on us they were serious.

We stopped laughing.

I then said, no f-bombing way would I be on the Council. Hank cracked up to the point he almost hyperventilated, which is very difficult for a Werewolf to do. The Council members, particularly Weterman and Dahn, were highly unamused by me and my colorful language. But I'd been through so much in the last few weeks I didn't really care.

I think I may have called Weterman an asshat at one point. Hank swears I did. I'm not as sure. I thought I called him an assjacket.

They asked us to hold off on giving them a real answer for a few months. I was clear though that if we decided to join their sorry old asses—
my words, not theirs
—there would be no more retreats in Wisconsin. All future retreats would have to be in Jamaica or Hawaii. My change of venue confused a few, but they didn't say no.

We hid my parents safely within the Georgia Pack. Junior welcomed them with open arms and expressed his fervent desire to find a spell or potion that would one day enable them to be human again. Most of the ferals joined the pack as well, but several went off on their own. This was probably not smart, but after having lived in captivity for so long we let them leave uncontested. Although if they caused problems or we discovered a cure, they knew they had to come back to the fold.

The new and improved Granny is a shock to all. No one ever saw a true hybrid. She is thrilled with the attention. She and Dwayne are now working on a musical tribute to
Twilight
in honor of Granny's new bloodsucker status. Apparently there's a pole involved and an array of nipple-less sequined bras. I hope to Jesus Hesus my parents never watch the show.